Passing On Our Common Thread...

Today, I pulled a small selection of old buttons and family treasures from my collection to share with you.

The heart-shaped dish belonged to Handsome's Aunt Eula and it eventually became ours. Many of these buttons were from my grandmother's or my mother-in-law's button jar. I especially love the variety I've chosen to show you...different colors, textures and finishes.

Grandma is going to be 97 this year. She only recently moved into a nursing home, and she is still a prolific crocheter. (She's also still pretty feisty, as evidenced by her sly smile in this picture!)

When she gave me her button jar, she told me that most of the buttons had been taken off old coats and tattered dresses and blouses for future use...a recycler before it became fashionable! I know I'll use them some day, but I get great pleasure just sorting and handling them. (Remember my "Scrooge McDuck" reference in yesterday's post?) I love the uniqueness and character of the old buttons, and they'll eventually adorn handbags, ATCs and other garments.

My mother-in-law, Evelyn was a most accomplished needlewoman. All the women in Handsome's family were avid seamstresses and needleworkers. She sewed for her family and her home, and she loved needlepoint. I have a pair of framed needlepoint gamebirds that she stitched, as well as a beautiful bargello pillow.

Evelyn died the year that Handsome and I were married, but having these pieces - as well as using some of her needlework tools - evokes fond memories of her. I'm reminded that I am preceded by many talented women in my family. (This photo of her resides on the wall in my studio. It's nice to have her there when I work.)

My dish is sitting on a lovely crocheted doily. I'm not sure who made it, but I love its colors of pastel pink and ivory. You can also see the embroidered edge of a pretty little hanky. It also came from Aunt Eula's home. I assume that her mother made it for her, but it could also have been created by Evelyn as a gift to Eula. When you don't know exactly who created something pretty, it's fun to imagine who might have spent hours with needle and thread in hand. I love the fact that it's embroidered with the tiniest of perfect stitches. It's a real work of art.

One of these days I'll pull out the antique linens that were passed to me to share with you, but for today I hope you enjoy these few buttons and the other pretties.

One of the reasons I love owning these needlework pieces and buttons is because of my shared legacy with these talented women. I will enjoy and care for them until I pass them along to our daughters-in-law and granddaughters, along with the stories of these amazing women. I'll be honored to be passing on our common thread.

One final thing for today: We're lucky to be enjoying the start of what I hope will be a fruitful rainy season here in Florida. We've had a couple of years of drought, so the rains are welcome. My friend, Bonnie, shared this link with me. It's a Slovenian group called Perpetuum Jazzile performing an incredible version of Toto's 1980s hit Africa. In their performance, they begin by simulating the sound of rain with their hands. Click on the group's name above to go to the link, turn up your sound, close your eyes, and sit back and enjoy.